The last six days of my life have been absolutely
incredible.
My trekking group consisted of 17 lovely individuals from
Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, and Uruguay. We were picked up at quite
literally the ass crack of dawn and driven to the start of our first hike. We
had about a three hour walk before arriving at our campsite. Our lodging was
surrounded by magnificent snowcapped mountains, with small glacial streams
running in every direction. I truly wish I could say it was real camping but glamping is a much better word to
describe our accommodations; our tents were popped under shelters, we had two
inch thick mattress pads, our food was cooked by a professional chef, tea
brought to our tents in the mornings, there were toilets and running water, you get the point… After an amazing
lunch, we hiked up to a glacial lake and proceeded to go skinny dipping. There
was another group there watching us and questioning our decision to run into
freezing water naked but we ignored them and continued our naked tirade. I
should also probably mention that the hiking wouldn’t be too hard if it weren’t
for the altitude; being above 3,500 meters makes you unable to breathe, let
alone walk uphill quickly. We all struggled but we all survived. After another
amazing meal, the rain began to pour down and lightening was striking left and
right. It was beautiful to watch under our tin shelter.
Day two started at 5 AM; just a friendly reminder that I am
NOT a morning person and can barely open my eyes before 8 in the morning. The
storm had rained itself out and we were blessed with a perfectly clear day. We
had clear views of all the mountains before making our departure. Our hike
started with three hours of uphill to reach 4,500 meters where we took a much
needed break and learned more about the Incan civilization. Two hours downhill
to another glamourous lunch then three more hours to our campsite. During this
five hours of downhill, the terrain switched from snowy mountains to complete
jungle; it was a complete 180. We ate, some people showered, played cards, and
passed out.
The following day, we were allowed to sleep in until the
lovely hour of 6 AM before taking a four hour walk along a road. Because it is
rainy season, the trail we would normally take was closed due to landslides. We
ate lunch on an open air balcony, equipped with hammocks and guacamole. Because
it would take forever to walk to our next campsite, we drove an hour and were
brought to another shelter with two adorable puppies. Our afternoon was spent
relaxing in hot springs with a drink in our hands. We headed home, ate dinner, and
then had a party. We had all drank more than intended when our guides pulled
out a bottle of Inka Tequila and proceeded to pour it down our throats. The
entire shindig was over around 1 AM but it was sufficient to ensure hangovers
for those over 23.
Luckily, we had the option of going zip lining the next day
instead of walking. We were driven into the mountains and then hung in every
direction across canyons. We were upside down, partnered, “super condor,” the
works. After lunch, we had a three hour walk along train tracks to Aguas
Calientes, the base city for Machu Picchu, and were put up in a lovely inn and
fed lovely food.
Now here is the real kicker, the homerun, the cream of the
crop: Machu Picchu.
There are two options to get to the top: walking up 140
flights of stairs or taking a bus. For both, you need to leave your accommodation
around 4:30 in the morning to wait in some form of line then begin to climb the
mountain. Being cheap, I opted to climb the stairs. When I arrived at the
entrance gate to the Park, there were probably 100 people in front of me
however, that didn’t stop me from beating all but 6 hikers and the buses to the
top. Despite the altitude and the four previous days of hiking, I ran to the
top – I was passing people left and right, sweating through my shirt, and not
stopping for even a drink of water. I made it to the top before almost everyone
else. Here’s the catch: upon getting inside the park, the fog was too thick to
see anything and I had to wait twenty
minutes for the rest of my group to get inside. It took a few hours to really
be able to see anything because Machu Picchu is essentially in a bowl and
collects fog. Around lunch time, when the fog began to clear, the majority of
the tourists had already left because they had been in the park for six hours.
We had the park semi-to ourselves. We went everywhere we possibly could: the
sun gates, the Inca Bridge, everything that didn’t require an extra ticket.
Our
tour guides had advised us to bring bananas for the llamas that roam the park
and keep the grass short so of course we did. We fed one llama, got some good
snaps, and then proceeded to the second llama, where we realized they also like
the peels. I fed the peels to this llama and when I ran out, began to walk
away; the llama didn’t like that and proceeded to chase me through crowds of
tourists and through the ruins. One of the proctors stopped the llama and
shooed it away, saving me from the inevitable llama spit.
I stayed an extra night in Aguas Calientes then took the bus
back to Cusco exhausted and incredibly happy with the previous days.
Besitos.
